Silent Sticks, Empty Nets: Stingrays Stung in Greenville

Well, if you're a South Carolina Stingrays fan, Saturday night in Greenville probably wasn't your favorite evening. Honestly, it was a tough one, a really tough one, as the boys found themselves on the wrong end of a 3-0 shutout against their cross-state rivals, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. And just like that, the series lead for Greenville stretches to a daunting two games to none, meaning the Stingrays are now staring down the very real possibility of a sweep.

From the drop of the puck, it seemed like the Stingrays just couldn't quite find that elusive spark. They shot, they battled, they gave it their all — 31 shots on goal, mind you — but it was almost as if an invisible force field had been erected around the Greenville net. And speaking of that net, the Swamp Rabbits' goalie? He was, for lack of a better word, spectacular; a brick wall that simply refused to be breached. You could say he was the star of the show, truly.

Greenville, on the other hand, found their rhythm, albeit steadily. Ethan Somoza kicked things off, slipping one past in the first period, a goal that felt like a quiet punch to the gut. Then, in the second, Brett Kemp added another, a subtle but significant blow that just made the hill seem that much steeper for the Stingrays. By the third period, with the Stingrays pushing desperately for anything, anything at all, Austin Saint iced it with an empty-netter. It was a dagger, sure, but in truth, the writing was probably on the wall a little before that. The Stingrays fought, absolutely, but the puck just wasn't bouncing their way, or perhaps, more accurately, it simply wasn't getting past the man in pads.

So, what now? The Stingrays have one more shot, one final opportunity to salvage some pride and avoid the indignity of a sweep. They'll face the Swamp Rabbits again on Sunday afternoon, 3 p.m., right there at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. It's a tall order, for sure, a real uphill climb. But you know, this is hockey, and anything can happen. They've got to find that scoring touch, though, and fast. The season, in a way, feels like it hinges on this next game; a chance for redemption, a chance to show what they're truly made of, and to remind everyone — and themselves, perhaps — that they're not a team that gives up easily.